Wanting to buy a home.. credit score of *chokes* 515... oh my

[delovebugger]

Hi everyone! Glad I found myfico.com! We are easily what one could describe as "the working poor." Hubby works full time at a whopping $10/hour, better than nothing of course! Together, we have 2 toddlers and another baby on the way. So, that's roughly about $20 k a year for 4-5 people. O.o I'm so over this economy. I went back to school full time this semester because the only way you can get ahead around here is with a degree. Should graduate in MAY with my associate's after being out of school for SEVEN years! Exciting.

Not so exciting is that 515 score. I'm sure my score isn't nearly as important as my husband's since he's the one working right now. No idea on his just yet. He's got this idea of moving out and purchasing a home. Of course we know it'll be a cheapy (inside and out) because of our scores and income. We're paying $500/month in rent now, and the hope is getting that lower with a monthly mortgage instead. I hate renting, it's pointless. We NEED to get out of this house. It's a rundown 2 br trailer that the landlord doesn't care about. And with another on the way, we've byfar surpassed space for more human bodies in here!

So I checked my score today.. 515. It's down a lot, it was like 620 last year. We had gotten a credit card (I know you all are groaning with me here) and of course didn't keep it up. Hubby had lost a job in there and we couldn't pay bills. So that's the first thing to get cleared up on MONDAY when we get our tax refund. It's only $633, past due is only $135 or some such. I'm kind of wondering if they might consider reopening it so we can start over, again. I'm sure they won't, but there's hope, right? Other than that, there's a couple of medical collections on my report under $500 total, and that's it for money I can spend to clear things up. There's 2 accounts on there that are the same? So I disputed that, and our bank account is listed as a negative? But we've never had a problem there, so I disputed that, too.

I can't believe it's a 515 with just those few things! What can I do? What can we do? We desperately want to do better for our family. :-/

[ktl72455]

Hello and welcome to the forum!!  Is your score from here on MyFico?

Is the credit card closed and CO ( charged off) or just past due? Is it in both names Jointly or are you added on as a Authorized user?

The medical bills, you can send a pay for delete. Basically asking them to accept the payment and do you a good will jesture and delete it from your credit reports.

You might also be able to have the doctors or who ever have the medical bills pull back the bill from collection and allow you to make payents to them and remove them from your reports.

[delovebugger]

Those are great ideas on the medical bills. I will surely look into that this week once I get that refund! The score is from Quizzle? Quicken Loans sent me to Quizzle just before I found out about ya'll here on myFICO. The credit card is listed as closed with both a balance and a past due balance. It is listed in both names: my husband and I jointly.

[blondy250]

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@delovebugger wrote:

Hi everyone! Glad I found myfico.com! We are easily what one could describe as "the working poor." Hubby works full time at a whopping $10/hour, better than nothing of course! Together, we have 2 toddlers and another baby on the way. So, that's roughly about $20 k a year for 4-5 people. O.o I'm so over this economy. I went back to school full time this semester because the only way you can get ahead around here is with a degree. Should graduate in MAY with my associate's after being out of school for SEVEN years! Exciting.

Not so exciting is that 515 score. I'm sure my score isn't nearly as important as my husband's since he's the one working right now. No idea on his just yet. He's got this idea of moving out and purchasing a home. Of course we know it'll be a cheapy (inside and out) because of our scores and income. We're paying $500/month in rent now, and the hope is getting that lower with a monthly mortgage instead. I hate renting, it's pointless. We NEED to get out of this house. It's a rundown 2 br trailer that the landlord doesn't care about. And with another on the way, we've byfar surpassed space for more human bodies in here!

So I checked my score today.. 515. It's down a lot, it was like 620 last year. We had gotten a credit card (I know you all are groaning with me here) and of course didn't keep it up. Hubby had lost a job in there and we couldn't pay bills. So that's the first thing to get cleared up on MONDAY when we get our tax refund. It's only $633, past due is only $135 or some such. I'm kind of wondering if they might consider reopening it so we can start over, again. I'm sure they won't, but there's hope, right? Other than that, there's a couple of medical collections on my report under $500 total, and that's it for money I can spend to clear things up. There's 2 accounts on there that are the same? So I disputed that, and our bank account is listed as a negative? But we've never had a problem there, so I disputed that, too.

I can't believe it's a 515 with just those few things! What can I do? What can we do? We desperately want to do better for our family. :-/

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Theres nothing wrong with renting, home ownership isn't for anyone, I'd consider renting a nicer/bigger place. As for your score, where did you get it from, many places that give or sell scores have very little basis in reality.

[delovebugger]

The thing on the renting is that we can't afford more than we're paying now at $500/month. You can't even find $500/month places anymore! But mortgages would be less than that, and at least a productive way to spend money in our mind. :-/

[blondy250]

I understand, but that is very specific to where you live, don't forget to include property taxes in you calculations. My primary home (very modest cape) is paid off, but my property taxes are almost 15k a year. Good luck in your journey, it starts with baby steps.

[ktl72455]

Qizzle Shows a Score but its not a tru FICO score.  It might be close give or take. You can get your fico scores here.

Have you pulled your free annual credit reports for both you and your husband?

Chances are if the card is closed, it will stay closed.

You might even benefit from takeing some of the refund and setting up a secured credit card so it will report as a positive on your reports. In one spouses name and the other as authorized user is all you need.  SDFCU   is the best place. They dont check credit which will drop your score. But lets see what all you have listed on all 3 credit beaurus first good and bad and see what we can do to help.

[delovebugger]

I've only pulled an equifax for me because I was curious. I'm waiting for my husband to come home from work to pull the rest and his. A secured card is an option, we had wanted to do that in the first place with the credit card, but he was offered an unsecured and went for it. :-P Ah well, we'll fix this mess. We have to! I'll post when I have the other reports pulled a little later today.

[ktl72455]

go to www.annualcreditreport.com

you can pull them fro free 1 time per year. ( all 3 Tu, EX, EQ) Make sure to print each one!!

You can also sign up for creditkarma.com they monitor Transunion , score isnt real but will give you a idea of whats on your report and any changes. Updates every week.

For 17.95 a month you can sign you and hubby up for My Privacy Matters and be able to pull your reports every day. This is useful when you are rebuilding.

Also check craigslist for houses to rent in your area in the mean time. I have a 3bd 2bath on 10 acres I rent out for 400.00 a month. 

[notfancy]

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@delovebugger wrote:

Hi everyone! Glad I found myfico.com! We are easily what one could describe as "the working poor." Hubby works full time at a whopping $10/hour, better than nothing of course! Together, we have 2 toddlers and another baby on the way. So, that's roughly about $20 k a year for 4-5 people. O.o I'm so over this economy. I went back to school full time this semester because the only way you can get ahead around here is with a degree. Should graduate in MAY with my associate's after being out of school for SEVEN years! Exciting.

Not so exciting is that 515 score. I'm sure my score isn't nearly as important as my husband's since he's the one working right now. No idea on his just yet. He's got this idea of moving out and purchasing a home. Of course we know it'll be a cheapy (inside and out) because of our scores and income. We're paying $500/month in rent now, and the hope is getting that lower with a monthly mortgage instead. I hate renting, it's pointless. We NEED to get out of this house. It's a rundown 2 br trailer that the landlord doesn't care about. And with another on the way, we've byfar surpassed space for more human bodies in here!

So I checked my score today.. 515. It's down a lot, it was like 620 last year. We had gotten a credit card (I know you all are groaning with me here) and of course didn't keep it up. Hubby had lost a job in there and we couldn't pay bills. So that's the first thing to get cleared up on MONDAY when we get our tax refund. It's only $633, past due is only $135 or some such. I'm kind of wondering if they might consider reopening it so we can start over, again. I'm sure they won't, but there's hope, right? Other than that, there's a couple of medical collections on my report under $500 total, and that's it for money I can spend to clear things up. There's 2 accounts on there that are the same? So I disputed that, and our bank account is listed as a negative? But we've never had a problem there, so I disputed that, too.

I can't believe it's a 515 with just those few things! What can I do? What can we do? We desperately want to do better for our family. :-/

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HI there and welcome!!!

Also ask the hospital or where ever the medical bill is if they have reserves set aside to cover bills due to a financial hardship. Sometimes they do have a slush fund for that, and if you can explain your situation, they can get the bills wiped out for you out of that fund. That being said, offering to pay the bill to them directly if they recall it from collections and delete it from your credit report is easiest and most likely with medical debt. I encourage you to try this route.

Hopefully your disputes work out in your favor.

Talk to the creditor you burned. Offer to pay them the past due balance of $135 if they would be willing to reinstate your account, or at least delete the entire thing from your credit report. They will very likely NOT reinstate the account, but it can't hurt to try.

Consider getting a secured credit card or two and work on paying those responsibly. I don't think homeownership is in the cards for you any time soon but maybe in the next year or two. You'll need to clean up your credit report a lot, and probably increase your family income a bit first. Also, your husband's credit would need to be evaluated since he's the one who most likely will be getting the loan.

It is terrific that you're graduating in May and that you and your husband are working so hard to ensure a brighter future for yourselves and your family! I wish my post  didn't seem so disheartening, but I really wish the best for you all! I hope that you can clear up some of these issues and be on the path to home ownership sooner rather than later!!!

Work on getting those negatives taken care of, getting some positive account history, and building up some savings for a down payment on your future home! Please keep us updated on your progress!